Coconut production contributes to the national economy of Sri Lanka. The scientific name of the coconut is Cocos nucifera. Sri Lanka there are three varieties, tall variety, dwarf variety and King coconut variety. [1] According to figures published in December 2018 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, it is the world's fourth largest producer of coconuts, producing 2,623,000 tonnes in 2018. [2]
The Portuguese who captured the country in 1505 called the nut Coco as the peeled nut was very unattractive. Coconut native to South-East Asia and Sri Lanka. Marco Polo, the Italian merchant and explorer who made to the west was among the first Europeans to describe the coconut. It's also reported that he referred to Sri Lanka as the most picturesque island in the world. In Sidat Sangarawa the coconut has been referred to as Nyli. In the Sigiri kurutu gee written about the 9th century. The idea has been expressed by the Professor Senarat Paranavitana, the reputed archaeologist that the breasts of the Sigiri damsels have been referred to as Neli. The Mahawansa states that the coconut was cultivated during the reign of King Aggabodhi (564-598). Faxian Buddhist monk (337-422) in his travel noted records the presence of coconut in Sri Lanka. The Kotte period (1412–1597) of the 15th century under Parakramabahu VI (1410–1467) is considered the golden era of Sinhala literature. The Paravi SandesayaI, the Selalihini Sandesaya, the Hansa Sandaseya, and the Gira Sandesaya makes reference to the coconut. [3]
When the British capered the coastal area, the various taxes imposed included a tax on the coconut palm. It is significant that words like Polwatta, Polgolla, Polgasowita, Polgahawela, Polhengoda, Polathumodera have in common the word pol (Coconut). There is ample evidence that coconut was present during the Anuradhapura period (377 BC–1017 AD). [3]
There is evidence that the word Pol (පොල්), Tēṅkāy (தேங்காய்) was not used for the coconut in very early times. It is believed that Vijaya on landing in Tambapaṇṇī was treated with young coconut water by Kuweni. [4]
Coconut palms grow in most parts of Sri Lanka except in higher elevations. It's a strong, light, and demanding tree. Most of the coconut is concentrated in the triangle formed by Puttalam, Kurunegala and Gampaha. This area covered by these three towns is referred to as the Coconut Triangle. [5]
The coconut palm has made Sri Lanka a particularly beautiful place. The graceful trunk of the tree rises to a height up to 30 m (98 ft) ending in a compact crown of 30-40 large feather like leaves. Each leaf is about3–4 m (9.8–13.1 ft) in length. It consists of a leaf stalk or petiole, a midrib and a large number of leaflets arranged in two opposite rows. The leaflets near the base of the leaf as well as near the apex are much shorter and narrower than those near the middle. Each fruit has three coverings an outer shiny layer, the epicarp which is green to start with but becomes brown as the nut matures (except in the king coconut where it is orange). Inner to this is the husk, the mesocarp, which cushions the seed, acting like a spring which breaks the fall of the fruit. The husk is not damaged by salt water and the coconut can be carried to long distances by the sea because the coconut is adapted to floatation. Inside the husk is a hard woody shell, the endocarp. [6]
| Common name | Features [7] |
|---|---|
| CRIC 60 | Annual production of seedlings - 1,000,000 nuts, Yield 12,000 nuts/ha/year |
| Gon Thembili | Annual production of seedlings - 5,000 nuts. Yield 20,000 nuts/ha/year |
| Pora pol | |
| Ran Thembili | |
| Kapruwana | Reach to the bearing stage with in 3–4 years |
| King Coconut | Intermediate stature, autogenous, homogeneous, fruits in 6–7 years, seasonal flower production, medium-sized nuts with orange epicarp and sweet nut water, 25-50 nuts per bunch |
| Nawasi Thembili | |
| Rathran Thembili | Certified variety with brown sticker. Suitable for home gardens |
| Green Dwarf | Hybrid variety, annual production of seedlings - 2,000 nuts. Certified variety with black sticker. Yield 20,000 nuts/ha/year |
The tender inner stem and the terminal bud called the palm cabbage is considered as a delicacy by some. The very young leaves (Gok kolla) are yellowish and shiny. There is reference ti the use of Gok leaves decorations in the ancient literary work Kawsilumina written during the Polonnaruwa period (1055–1232). Gok leaves are used for decoration on occasions such as wedding receptions, religious functions and sometimes even at funerals. In the Poruwa or wedding dais on which the bride and bridegroom stand while religious ceremonies are performed, tender Gok leaflets are used to beautify the structure. The Pirith mandapa (පිරිත් මණ්ඩප) or chamber in which the bhikkus chant pitith are also constructed using gok and dried leaflets. [8]
The mature fronds are pleated or woven to make baskets and are also used in the partitioning of houses or thatching roofs in houses of poorer homes and covering the roofs of temporary structures . The green leaf is split down the midrib and the leaflets of each side is cross woven making what is called "cadjans". The midrib of the leaflets are made into eakle brooms after the leaf blade on each side has been removed. The mature inflorescences are taken out and used un decorations after the spathes which encloses the flowers are split. The inflorescences are placed in pots which are placed in the 4 corners of the pirith mandapaya or Poruwa. [8]
Toddy (Pol ra,பொல் ரா,පොල් රා) is obtained by tapping the juice exuded from the young inflorescence of the coconut while it is still covered by the spathe. It is a very refreshing drink, called sweet toddy, non intoxicating and pleasant if taken when freshly drawn. In preparing to obtain sweet toddy, the inflorescence is tied up tight before opening with string and the free end is sliced off. If the end gets parched, fresh slices are cut off. A pot is hung beneath the cut end of the inflorescence into which the juice from the bruised inflorescence collects. A good tree can yield a litre of sweet toddy per day with sugar content up to 14%. The instruments carried by the tapper are a little wooden mallet (used as a hammer for tapping) and a curved knife for slicing carried on the belt across his waist. Close to the crowns two strong ropes connect adjacent trees. The toddy tapper walks on one holding to the other. By this the tapper has no need to descend one tree and climb the next one for tapping. The unfermented toddy can be boiled and thickened to produce treacle, or further boiled to thicken more and finally poured into clean coconut shells to form a solid called jaggery which is used in the preparation of sweetmeats and other delicacies. [9]
Most of arrack made for the fermented sap of coconut flowers. Sri Lanka is the largest producer of coconut arrack in the world. 50 million liters in 2020. Distilleries major arrack production company in Sri Lanka. [10] Due to its concentrated sugar and yeast content, the captured liquid naturally and immediately ferments into a mildly alcoholic drink called "toddy", tuak, or occasionally "palm wine". Within a few hours after collection, the toddy is poured into large wooden vats, called "wash backs", made from the wood of teak or Berrya cordifolia. The natural fermentation process is allowed to continue in the washback until the alcohol content reaches 5-7% and deemed ready for distillation.
Distillation is generally a two-step process involving either pot stills, continuous stills, or a combination of both. The first step results in "low wine", a liquid with an alcohol content between 20 and 40%. [11] The second step results in the final distillate with an alcohol content of 60 to 90%. It is generally distilled to between 33% and 50% alcohol by volume (ABV) or 66 to 100 proof. The entire distillation process is completed within 24 hours. Various blends of coconut arrack diverge in processing, yet the extracted spirit may also be sold raw, repeatedly distilled or filtered, or transferred back into halmilla vats for maturing up to 15 years, depending on flavour, colour and fragrance requirements. [11]
The coconut tree is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus Cocos. The term "coconut" can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which botanically is a drupe, not a nut. They are ubiquitous in coastal tropical regions and are a cultural icon of the tropics.
Palm wine, known by several local names, is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm trees such as the palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms. It is known by various names in different regions and is common in various parts of Africa, the Caribbean, South America, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Micronesia.
Jaggery is a traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar consumed in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Central America, Brazil and Africa. It is a concentrated product of cane juice and often date or palm sap without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can vary from golden brown to dark brown in colour. It contains up to 50% sucrose, up to 20% invert sugars, and up to 20% moisture, with the remainder made up of other insoluble matter, such as wood ash, proteins, and bagasse fibres. Jaggery is very similar to muscovado, an important sweetener in Portuguese, British and French cuisine. The Kenyan Sukari ngutu/nguru has no fibre; it is dark and is made from sugarcane and also sometimes extracted from palm tree.
The term punch refers to a wide assortment of drinks, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic, generally containing fruits or fruit juice. The drink was introduced from the Indian subcontinent to England by employees of the East India Company in the late 17th century. Punch is usually served at parties in large, wide bowls, known as punch bowls.
Feni is a spiritous liquor type originating in Goa, India. The two most popular types of feni are cashew feni and coconut feni. Depending on the ingredients; however, other varieties and newer blends are also sold by distilleries. The small-batch distillation of feni has a fundamental effect on its final character, which still retains some of the delicate aromatics, congeners, and flavour elements of the juice from which it is produced.
Sri Lankan cuisine is known for its particular combinations of herbs, spices, fish, vegetables, rices, and fruits. The cuisine is highly centered around many varieties of rice, as well as coconut which is a ubiquitous plant throughout the country. Seafood also plays a significant role in the cuisine, be it fresh fish or preserved fish. As a country that was a hub in the historic oceanic silk road, contact with foreign traders brought new food items and cultural influences in addition to the local traditions of the country's ethnic groups, all of which have helped shape Sri Lankan cuisine. Influences from Indian, Indonesian and Dutch cuisines are most evident with Sri Lankan cuisine sharing close ties to other neighbouring South and Southeast Asian cuisines.
Eelam is the native Tamil name for the South Asian island now known as Sri Lanka. Eelam is also the Tamil name for the spurge, toddy and gold.
Arrack is a distilled alcoholic drink typically produced in India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, made from the fermented sap of coconut flowers or sugarcane, and also with grain or fruit depending upon the country of origin. It is sometimes spelled arak, or simply referred to as 'rack or 'rak. It is not to be confused with the anise-flavored distilled spirit called arak or araq. In many parts of India arrack is colloquially known as "desi daru".
Borassus is a genus of five species of fan palms, native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Papua New Guinea.
Corypha umbraculifera, the talipot palm, is a species of palm native to eastern and southern India and Sri Lanka. It is also grown in Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and the Andaman Islands. It is one of the five accepted species in the genus Corypha. It is a flowering plant with the largest inflorescence in the world. It lives up to 60 years before bearing flowers and fruits. It dies shortly after.
Coconut brandy is a clear distilled spirit produced from borassus flower nectar and matured in wood casks. The spirit is produced by Mendis Brandy, a Georgia, U.S.-based company. The spirit is not made with coconuts.
Phoenix sylvestris also known as silver date palm, Indian date, sugar date palm or wild date palm, is a species of flowering plant in the palm family native to southern Pakistan, most of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh. It has been introduced to southeastern China, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Puerto Rico and the Leeward Islands. Growing in plains and scrubland up to 1300 m above sea level, the fruit from this palm species is used to make wine and jelly. The sap is tapped and drunk fresh or fermented into toddy. The fresh sap is boiled to make palm jaggery in West Bengal state of India and Bangladesh.
Borassus flabellifer, commonly known as doub palm, palmyra palm, tala or tal palm, toddy palm, lontar palm, wine palm, ထန်းပင် (htan-pin) or ice apple, is a fan palm native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is reportedly naturalized in Socotra.
Caryota urens is a species of flowering plant in the palm family, native to Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar and Malaysia, where they grow in fields and rainforest clearings, it is regarded as introduced in Cambodia. The epithet urens is Latin for "stinging" alluding to the chemicals in the fruit. Common names in English include solitary fishtail palm, kitul palm, toddy palm, wine palm, sago palm and jaggery palm. Its leaf is used as fishing rod after trimming the branches of the leaf and drying. According to Monier-Williams, it is called moha-karin in Sanskrit. It is one of the sugar palms.
Neera, also called palm nectar, is a sap extracted from the inflorescence of various species of toddy palms and used as a drink. Neera extraction is generally performed before sunrise. It is sweet, translucent in colour. It is susceptible to natural fermentation at ambient temperature within a few hours of extraction, and is also known as palm wine. Once fermented, Neera becomes toddy. Neera is widely consumed in India, Sri Lanka, Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Myanmar. Neera is not the juice made from palm fruit.
Coconut sugar is a palm sugar produced from the sap of the flower bud stem of the coconut palm.
Raphia farinifera is a tropical African palm tree occurring in lowland riparian and swamp forest, also around human habitations and cultivated locations, on stream banks and other moist situations at altitudes of 50–1000 m. Found in Angola, Benin, Burkina, Cameroon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Réunion, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and naturalised in east lowlands of Madagascar. Its generic epithet is derived from raphis = 'needle', probably in reference to the 4 mm long yellowish spines on the margins and main veins of the leaflets. The specific name refers to a type of starchy flour obtained from the trunk pith – farina = 'starch', fera = 'bearing'.
Intoxicants in Sri Lanka are legal in certain contexts. One can legally buy most alcohols, tobaccos, and certain herbals through licensed ayurvedic shops, who are provided the raw materials by the Ministry of Health and then compelled to produce solutions/products that are then sold to the public. It is also possible to purchase tobacco from convenience stores and alcohol from several licensed stores.
Kaong palm vinegar, also known as irok palm vinegar or arengga palm vinegar, is a traditional Filipino vinegar made from the sap of the kaong sugar palm. It is one of the four main types of vinegars in the Philippines, along with coconut vinegar, cane vinegar, and nipa palm vinegar. It is usually sold under the generic label of "palm vinegar".
Laksoy, is a traditional Filipino distilled nipa palm liquor. It is derived from tubâ made from nipa palm sap that has been aged for at least 48 hours. It originates from Eastern Mindanao, the Visayas Islands,, the Bicol Region, and Southern Luzon. During the Spanish colonial period, it was also known as vino de nipa in Spanish. It has a typical alcohol content of 70 to 100 proof after a single distillation.
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